Actual shelf heights will vary with your closet's measurements and your needs.
There is no set rule regarding the heights at which you must hang your closet shelving, but some general rules of thumb can help guide you in your planning. Every member of the family has different storage needs, so you should adapt the closet as much as possible for each person. While young kids need low storage, parents can use the upper space for their own overflow. Teens may need room for clothes and accessories or sports gear. Closets provide both organization and storage, but to enable them to change along with their users, it is best to install shelves at varying heights. Does this Spark an idea?
High Shelves
Shelves placed above shoulder height allow you to take advantage of unused space near the ceiling in tall closets. Store lightweight items at this height, such as empty suitcases, hat boxes, seasonal clothing or holiday decorations. You can also place items that you rarely use or want to keep hidden or protected on these shelves. For example, they offer a good spot to hide holiday gifts from snooping children. Install one shelf along the back wall or cover the back and two side walls for more space.
Eye-Level
Shelves placed within the range from shoulder-height to eye-level permit you to easily see what you have stored and they offer a place for keeping heavy items without the need to lift them overhead. These shelves provide storage for some of your most frequently used items or items you don't use routinely, but may need quick access to, such as stored documents or sporting equipment. Leave sufficient space beneath the shelves for a bar for hanging clothing, or run a series of equally spaced shelves up one side of the closet for folded items of clothing. The This Old House website suggests limiting such shelves to a height of 10 inches so you needn't sort through a large pile for the item you want.
Waist-High
Waist-high shelving makes sense for the main portion of your closet, if you have no clothing hanging beneath higher shelves. These shelves also work well on side walls of the closet. Use containers to convert open shelving into storage for smaller pieces or dividers to separate larger cubby holes into zones where accessories are sorted and fully on view to make locating an item quick and simple. Tall cubby holes allow you to store boots, handbags and backpacks. Dedicate one small shelf to holding all the items you carry in your hands or pockets as you go out, such as your wallet, phone, keys and loose change.
Low Shelves
Low shelves make good common sense storage for footwear and very heavy items that would prove dangerous to store on a higher shelf. Single shelf, two- and three-tier options for shoes allow you to adapt the space to your needs, or you can purchase removable multi-level units to stack and store shoes if you have more than will fit on a single shelf. The units make cleaning easier, since you simply pull out one rack to remove all your shoes to clean the shelf below. The Gary M. Katz Online website suggests a seven-inch shelf spacing for shoes and a 15-inch or taller clearance for boots. Proper storage protects your belongings from unnecessary wear and damage.
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